In a recently acquired internal Better Business Bureau document; their
internal OPS Manual regarding handling complaints we find
language to be used in the BBB's reliability reports so that the BBB
may escape the legal consequences of their Grading System. We've
already pointed out numerous instances where the guidelines in this
language have not been followed. Here's that language.
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Which brings us full circle to Goldline's "BBB Defense" which goes like
this: "How can Goldline be a scam, they have an A+ grade from the
Better Business Bureau. The answer to this is--if the BBB is a
scam, then what does that say about Goldline's A+ grade?
Below is a screenshot of a portion of Goldline's BBB reliability
report. Notice the Twitter and Facebook feeds that are displayed
on the Goldline BBB report. No other company in the Gold business
has their Twitter and Facebook feeds featured. In fact, they
display what can only be construed as advertising in direct opposition
to the BBB's stated policy.
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August 1, 2010:
To be fair, this
"advertising service" appears to be open to any business that has an
account with the LA BBB (note: from what we can gather, a
business does NOT have to be a member of the LA BBB to have an
account.) Here's the language from the LA BBB's newsletter:
"Earlier
this year we
announced that you now have the ability to embed links to your social
networks from your company's BBB Reliability Report. We have automated
linking to the following popular sites: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
MySpace, and LinkedIn. All of these connections enhance and expand your
presence on the internet. Once logged in, click on the “Manage
My Social Networks” link there will be clear instructions on what
to do."
LA BBB NEWSLETTER
We will be testing out this
feature in the next week or two and let you know what we come up with.
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| BBB BETRAYS SMALL BUSINESS AND THE CONSUMER
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Recently acquired internal Better Business Bureau documents reveal the
true intentions of the Better Business Bureau. Despite lofty
language to the contrary, the BBB is not concerned with working with
small businesses nor with looking out for the consumer. The
complete document is available here.
The BBB states that one of their goals was to increase the quality,
value and relevance of their products. Goofy Grades continue to
demonstrate the total IRRELEVANCE of BBB Grades.
As for their goal of becoming the Partner of Choice for businesses, the
BBB's continuing aloofness, of not standing accountable when they make
a mistake belie their statement.
Instead of removing barriers to participation by trustworthy
businesses, the BBB continues to build roadblocks to
participation. When a business can not even meet with the Better
Business Bureau their can be no participation.
To further demonstrate that you cannot trust anything the Better
Business Bureau states, we take a look at the following pages that
outline their strategic plans for small business and the consumer.
To serve business better, the BBB proposes to serve up the data they
gather on small businesses on a platter to big business.
To put consumers in the know, the BBB offers misleading grades that
have been completely discredited by now and disavows any part in
complaint resolution. In other words, the BBB is NOT on the
consumers side. The BBB has yet to deliver on their promise to
provide consumers satisfaction and feedback stated in this document.
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Editor's
note: There is a need for a consumer advocacy
group
that the public can turn to, and it used to be that the Better Business
Bureau fulfilled this role adequately. No longer. It is
obvious the Better
Business Bureau does not now, nor ever will have, the resources to
fully investigate the four million businesses in their database, much
less grade them with any sense of accuracy. It's an impossible
job,
and to think otherwise is a mistake that the BBB should acknowledge so
they can get back to their reason for existence--protecting the
consumer. There's an old saying, "who will watch the watchers"
and it
applies here as the BBB has set themselves up to be above the
law. We
are simply here to help the Better Business Bureau do a better job so
that they may properly serve the consumer, the business community and
themselves. If they refuse to reform, then they must bear the
consequences.
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